


it's me and my plus one at the afterlife

by mrsenjolras



Category: BBC Radio 1 RPF, One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Buffy The Vampire Slayer Fusion, M/M, Magic, Vampires, some vampire violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-31
Updated: 2019-07-31
Packaged: 2020-07-27 07:24:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,322
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20042137
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrsenjolras/pseuds/mrsenjolras
Summary: It all starts because Liam Payne makes a stupid decision.Well, that’s not exactly true. Technically it starts when Louis turns 16 and becomes the Slayer, the chosen one to fight all evil forces in the world and to prevent the apocalypse, blah blah, major responsibility, saving the world, et cetera et cetera.But this time? This time Liam did something really,reallydumb.[Or: Louis is the Slayer, Nick and Harry are vampires, and Liam and Niall make up the rest of the Scoobies.]





	it's me and my plus one at the afterlife

**Author's Note:**

> hello! this fic has been in my wip folder since 2016, so i'm very glad it's finally done!!
> 
> a few warnings: 1. louis and liam are both 18 but still in high school, and their romantic interests are vampires who (because they're immortal) are much older though they don't necessarily look it. this choice is basically following how the first few seasons of buffy go, but if you're uncomfortable with that difference you probably won't enjoy this!  
2\. johannah has died in this fic, and parts of it deal with louis' grief around that. this is in no way me trying to guess how real-life louis tomlinson deals with his grief, and the rest of his family is mostly absent from the fic. but if discussions of grief or death are not for you, then you might not want to go further. 
> 
> i also want to extend my gratitude to a few people: jamila and steph for always being so excited to hear more about this fic and waiting very patiently for me to finish, justine for running another year of this fest with me even though i've been working and mia for much of it, and finally to my artist maryhavo for creating wonderful art for this fic. thank you all so much, from the bottom of my heart!!

It all starts because Liam Payne makes a stupid decision. 

Well, that’s not exactly true. Technically it starts when Louis turns 16 and becomes the Slayer, the chosen one to fight all evil forces in the world and to prevent the apocalypse, blah blah, major responsibility, saving the world, et cetera et cetera. 

And if he’s being really honest, Louis is so lucky that Liam didn’t go running after all that. Most normal 16 year olds would get far away from the kid that starts talking about vampires and demons and witches. So yeah, Louis lucked out in his choice of best friend, and Liam has for the most part been an immense help.

But this time? This time he did something really, _really_ dumb.

*

“I’m sorry, _what_?” Louis asks, shocked.

“I’ve got a boyfriend,” Liam responds, smiling sheepishly.

“No, not that part, the _other _part, repeat that,” Louis demands, sure that he’s heard wrong. This is _Liam_, his best friend and pretty much the only person who has stood with him from the start of this whole Slayer business. The one person who shares his hatred of vampires, or so Louis _thought_, because now Liam’s saying--

“My boyfriend is a vampire.”

“_What_? Liam, what the _fuck_?” Louis says, probably a little too loud, since they’re currently in the library on orders from Paul to research whatever demon that showed up to torment Sunnydale this time. Liam shushes him, but Louis just rolls his eyes. No one ever goes in the school library anyway; how else would Paul be able to stock a bunch of weird old magic books instead of, like, _The Great Gatsby_, or something? 

“Louis, I know what you’re gonna say--” Liam starts, but Louis cuts him off. 

“Yeah, I’m gonna say that you’re out of your _mind_! Or did you forget that you’re the best friend of the _Slayer_, you know, the one person on the planet sworn to kill vampires?”

“Of course I know that Louis, but--” Liam tries again, but then Louis gets a thought. A good thought.

“Wait, oh my God. Is this some kind of spy mission? You’re gonna get close to this vampire, learn his habits, and use it to help me kill him, right? That’s totally _genius_, Payno!” Louis grins, knowing that that must be the solution. Liam wouldn’t betray him by _actually_ dating a vampire.

“What? No, I’m actually dating a vampire,” Liam says, and Louis’ hopes are dashed as soon as they came up. Damn Liam Payne and his earnest eyebrows. “Listen Lou, I’m sorry, but he’s _really_ nice, and he _cares_ about me--” Louis cuts Liam off again, trying to avoid the soppy mess he can tell Liam is already turning into.

“Okay, like, that’s cool and all, I’m happy you’ve found someone, but that someone happens to be a member of the class of the undead that I am dedicated to remove from this earth. So like, I’ll let you have this one, but he better stay the hell away from me, alright?” Louis says. He doesn’t think it’s too much to ask. He didn’t think it was too much to ask that his best friend stay away from entering romantic relationships with bloodsuckers, but, well. 

“Aw, but I wanted you to meet him,” Liam’s pouting. Louis hates Liam’s pout. It should probably go on some sort of list as cruel and unusual punishment, being on the wrong side of that.

“No,” Louis says. “Now come on, what the fuck did Paul want us to look up again?” And that’s the end of the conversation. Hopefully Liam will come to his senses soon and later they can look back on this and laugh, like, _haha, remember that time you thought it would be fun to make out with some dead guy 200 years older than you? Hilarious_. 

*

Louis meets Harry about two weeks after that conversation. He’s put it out of his mind for the most part, focused on his nightly patrols (lonelier now that Liam has other plans most nights) and helping out around the house and trying not to fail geography too terribly. He’s not sure who decided that sixteen was the best age to place the burden of _saving the world_ on someone, but he’s pretty sure they never had to deal with a calculus test the morning after breaking up a group of howler demons.

It’s a Friday night, and Paul has given Louis the night off from patrols and training and essentially all Slayer-related business. So Louis just wants to watch a bunch of Batman movies and eat junk food with Liam. 

He lets himself into the Payne house, because Karen and Geoff love him and are always happy to see him. The Paynes are possibly aliens whose motives on Earth are to spread sweetness and love and happiness. Louis hasn’t looked into it too closely, but he does know that he’s lucky to have them in his life. So he walks in, charms Karen a bit, chats a little about football with Geoff, and then heads up to Liam’s room. 

He walks in the way he always does, tapping their special pattern on the door before opening it with a loud “movie marathon, Payno, I hope you’re ready because I’ve brought over--_oh my God_.” He looks up to see Liam, sweet Liam, the Liam who blushed so hard when they learned sex ed in freshman year that Louis was genuinely worried for his health, _that _Liam, lying on his bed shirtless with a stranger on top of him, clearly having been caught in the middle of a pretty heavy makeout session.

Liam scrambles up, pushing the guy off of him and reaching to get his shirt off the floor. “Louis!” he says, sounding breathless. “Hey, um, didn’t know you were coming over. Um, sorry, I--we, oh!” he looks over to the boy on the bed, who has just cleared his throat. “Um, Louis, this is Harry. Harry, this is Louis.”

“You’re the vampire,” Louis says immediately, ignoring Liam’s protesting noise. Harry simply nods.

“And you’re the Slayer,” he responds, not seeming too bothered by this fact. He scoots a little closer to Liam on the bed, reaching for his hand.

“That’s right. I know about a hundred different ways to kill you, and I’m always armed. So if you hurt him,” he gestures towards Liam, “I will turn you to dust faster than you can say please. Got it?”

“Understood,” Harry replies, and God, does he have a British accent? Where did Liam _find_ this guy? Speaking of Liam…

“And you...did you seriously sneak a boy into your room while your parents are downstairs?” Louis points at Liam, who starts to look sheepish. “I’m proud of you, Payno, breaking the rules.”

“I’ve broken them before, Louis. You sneak in here all the time,” Liam protests.

“Yeah, but I’m not sticking my weird undead tongue down your throat now, am I?” Louis retorts, before throwing a quick glance towards Harry. “I mean, no offense, or whatever.”

Harry just looks nonplussed, looking back and forth between Louis and Liam like a tennis match. “None taken. I should probably get going anyway. You look like you’ve got some exciting plans,” he turns to Liam, who’s got that damned pout on, and gives him a quick kiss. “I’ll see you later, yeah?” Liam nods, and Harry gets up and heads to the window before turning to Louis. “Pleasure to meet you at last, Louis.” And with that he jumps out the window. Louis rolls his eyes. Vampires, always so damn dramatic. 

It’s quiet in the room, after Harry leaves. Louis can tell Liam feels bad, like he’s betrayed Louis for dating a vampire. And like, maybe he has, a little, but he also looked incandescently happy when Harry was in the room, smiling his scrunchy-faced smile when they kissed. Louis has known Liam since kindergarten, when he pushed Liam over for stealing his toy and then picked him up and declared him his best friend right after. He's seen all the shit Liam has gone through just for being himself. And though Louis will always be President of the Liam Payne Fan Club (other members include Liam’s family and all of Louis’ sisters; they have t-shirts, it's great) he supposes he can allow Harry some participation too. So Louis walks over to the bed, plopping down next to Liam.

“Hey, can I ask you a question?” he says, waiting for Liam to turn to him with an assent before continuing. “If Harry’s, like, dead, how does he get it up?”

Liam pushes him off the bed.

*

After that night, Harry becomes a slightly more permanent fixture. Louis still tries to avoid direct contact, especially since they haven't figured out how exactly to break it to Paul that the best friend of his Slayer regularly plays tonsil hockey with a vampire, but he hears stories from Liam and sometimes when he passes Liam’s house on his patrols he sees two figures through Liam’s bedroom window. 

Liam and Louis manage to keep Harry’s existence from Paul for about a month, until they’re in the middle of a fairly standard--though highly aerobic--vampire fight. Louis turns around from where he’s just completed a very sick avoid-and-kill maneuver, and assesses the scene, trying not to cough from the dust cloud he just created. Liam looks to be getting up from where he just staked the vamp that was on top of him, shaking the dust out of his clothes, and Louis is about to call the coast clear when Paul shouts “one more, I got him,” and Louis turns around to see Paul headed towards a _very_ familiar looking figure. Oh shit. 

“Oh shit,” Louis says. “Paul, wait!” he calls out, running (sprinting, more like, since Paul was already closer and he’s damn fast for an old guy) and managing to get in between Paul and fucking Harry of all people, the things he does for his best friend. 

“Don’t, not this one,” Louis pants, holding his hands out. Paul looks majorly confused, and Liam finally catches up to them, stopping short when he sees the situation, letting out a short gasp and a “Harry.”

Paul looks doubly confused now. “What did you two do, and why is it stopping me from killing this vampire?” He asks (well, growls is more like it).

“It was Liam’s fault!” Louis says, pointing. Liam sends him a death glare before Paul turns around and faces him. Louis steps out of Harry’s personal space once Paul’s back is turned, putting several feet between them. Harry looks--Louis can’t really describe the expression on his face, though frog-like might come close. 

“Liam,” Paul says slowly, and _oh_, this is bad. “_What did you do_?” Yeah, this is really bad. 

“Um, well, it’s, like, a long story?” Liam starts, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck. “But, basically, like, me and Harry, are, um, dating?” he ends on a question mark, looking up at Paul sheepishly. 

“You’re dating. And you knew about it,” Paul turns back to Louis now, and the _lack_ of question marks in his speech is worrying. Harry’s still standing there, froggy face and all, and if Louis were an outsider to this situation he might laugh. As it is, laughing right now would probably guarantee the stake in Paul’s hand would go through his head, so he plays it cool. 

“Like, sorta? I didn’t approve at first, obviously, but like, it’s Liam?” Louis says, and Paul sighs and nods. He had been pretty wary of Liam at first, back when Louis first became the Slayer, but after two years of seeing the two of them together he’s learned not to question any part of their relationship. 

“And you?” he says, turning to Harry now, whose eyes widen like a deer in headlights. Louis smiles to himself, feeling a bit smug.

“Er, I like Liam a lot? I won’t hurt him?” Harry says, looking desperately at Louis for help. Louis feels a lot smug. 

“Is that a question or a statement?” Paul asks, and Louis has to stop himself from laughing out loud. Harry really didn’t know what he was getting into if he didn’t realize that any person who has spent more than thirty minutes in Liam’s presence is fiercely protective of him. And Liam happens to hang around people who are trained in the exact method to kill a vampire. 

“Statement, definite statement,” Harry backtracks quickly. “And, er, you don’t really have to worry about me, like, killing people, because I don’t drink from humans anymore. Animals only.” Paul turns around and looks at Liam. 

“Where the hell did you find this one?” he asks incredulously, and Louis can’t handle it anymore. He bursts out laughing, hunching over and holding his stomach as all the adrenaline leaves his body in the form of hysterical laughter. 

Paul sighs, Harry looks even more confused (if possible), and Liam’s lips twitch as he tries not to succumb to Louis’ hilarity. Another typical night for Louis Tomlinson, vampire slayer.

*

Paul keeps a close eye on Louis and Liam after that, not keen to have them going around adopting more supernatural strays, it seems. Plus he gets the _genius_ idea that since they now have regular access to a vampire, he can help them out with training. And though Harry has his weird new-age vegetarian way of being a vampire, he still has all the strength and power of any normal bloodthirsty vamp, and Paul likes to capitalize on that in Louis’ sparring sessions. 

“_Ugh_,” Louis hits the mat and stays there, trying to catch his breath. 

“That was good, Louis,” Liam calls out supportively from where he’s perched on one of the library tables, munching on a bag of chips. “You stayed standing for, like, thirty seconds longer.”

Louis rolls his eyes. “Be quiet,” he says. “We all know you’re just here to perv over your boyfriend.” Liam flushes, but doesn’t say anything back, and Harry ducks his head to hide his smile. They’re disgusting, really, Louis thinks, but he supposes some would find it cute. “Paul, it’s been an hour, can we take a break?”

“Yeah,” Paul says, “I’ve got something to show you, anyway.”

Louis rolls to his feet, ignoring the hand Harry had stuck out to help him up. He also ignores the disappointed look on Liam’s face. Just because he’s started to play nice with the vamp for Liam’s sake doesn’t mean they have to be _besties_, or whatever. “What’s up?” he asks Paul when they reach the table he sits at. He’s got several old books in front of him, open to random pages. 

“The other night, when you fought that Carnyss demon? It left a sigil behind, but I haven’t been able to identify what it means.”

Louis looks closer at the drawing Paul had done of the sigil. Louis’ really not the best at this sort of thing; he’s more into the fighting and destroying than the magicky bits. Liam likes them well enough, though, and has been studying some ancient runes with Paul. But he doesn’t look like he recognizes the symbol either, and Louis shrugs. “Not anything I’ve seen,” he says, and Liam nods in agreement. 

Paul turns to Harry. “Do you recognize it?” he asks, and Harry looks startled. Louis is a bit surprised too; having Harry help Louis out with training is one thing, asking him to help them find the baddie of the week is another thing. Not for the first time, Louis wonders just what exactly the Watcher Council would have to say about all of this. 

“Er,” Harry says, inching marginally closer to the table and gazing down at the sigil, “no, I don’t. But you could ask Grimmy.”

“Who’s that?” Louis asks. 

“He’s another vampire. He’s been around for a lot longer than I have,” Harry says. “He’s seen a lot of things; he might be able to help you out.” Paul looks like he hates the idea, but also like it might be the only option they have. 

_Great_, Louis thinks, _more fucking vampires_. 

*

The thing that Harry forgot to mention was that Nicholas Grimshaw is the most insufferable being on the planet, alive or dead (or undead, as it were). Louis comes to this conclusion about five minutes into meeting the man. He walks into the library a couple nights after Harry suggested they bring him in, wearing perhaps the most ridiculous shirt Louis has ever seen. It’s unbuttoned half down his chest, showing off some chest hair that Louis doesn’t even _understand_, because how does a vampire still grow chest hair? But that wasn’t even the worst part; the worst part was the way Nick gave Louis a once over and hummed consideringly, before saying, “well, that’s a pity.”

“What is?” Louis shot back, glaring. 

“That you’ll never last long enough to grow into that attitude of yours, darling,” Nick replied with a condescending smile, and Louis decided right then and there that he hated him. That’s the thing about immortal beings, though: they think because they’ve lived a couple centuries they’ve seen everything there is to see. They’re always acting like they can predict what’ll happen next. Louis’ lost count of the number of vamps or demons who have underestimated Louis because of his age, or his size, or his slightly dainty features, only for Louis to stake them through the heart five minutes later. It’s the same element of surprise Louis used on the football players that would call him and Liam fags in the hallway before Louis put his enhanced strength to good use and fought back one day. So Nick Grimshaw can talk all he wants about Louis’ doomed future as a Slayer; Louis knows he’ll prove him wrong. 

For now, he just rolls his eyes. “Clearly however many centuries you’ve lived haven’t let you grow into yours, either. Can you just tell us if you recognize the sigil?” 

Nick hums consideringly again, peering over at where Paul’s got the sigil spread out on the table. Louis looks over at Liam, who looks very uncomfortable with the whole situation, and rolls his eyes. Liam smiles back at him, a bit nervously, and grabs Harry’s hand where he’s standing next to him. Harry also looks wary about having Nick there; he probably thought this meeting would go better than it has so far. 

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen something like this,” Nick says after a moment, “but it looks like the sign of a Captare demon.”

“What does that mean?” Louis asks, and Nick looks at him again, eyebrow quirked. 

“If you want to be a good Slayer, pet, you should brush up on your Latin. Captare--it means desire. The demon appears to you as the person you most want to see in that moment. You trust it and then it feeds on your soul and kills you,” Nick says. Liam makes a startled noise, but Louis just rolls his eyes again. 

“So, just like every other week, then?” he asks, with just the right amount of snark, he thinks. Nick looks wholly unimpressed. 

“This is an ancient demon,” he says. “It’s much more powerful than whatever you’ve dealt with. You can’t just run in there and stake it. Unless you _want_ to die at seventeen.”

“I’m eighteen, dick,” Louis says, and then he turns to Paul. “Are we done now? I have things to do.” 

“Maths homework, I presume,” Nick mutters, and Louis glares at him. He doesn’t wait for an answer from Paul before he grabs his bag and storms out of the library. He stomps all the way outside before he flops down onto a bench, because he’s meant to get the twins from a friend’s house but there’s no way he’s calm enough to see them right now. It only takes a few minutes before Liam’s sitting down next to him. 

“He’s a dick,” Louis says, and Liam nudges his shoulder. 

“A bit, yeah. Harry likes him, but I reckon he’s nicer to Harry than he was to you,” Liam says. Louis laughs a bit. 

“What have we gotten ourselves into, Li?” he asks softly. He looks over at Liam, and while Liam looks mostly worried about Louis, there’s a bit of fear there as well. Louis thinks Nick’s description of the demon stuck with Liam.

“Dunno,” Liam says, shrugging. He wraps an arm around Louis’ shoulders. “But I think we’ll get out of it like we’ve gotten out of everything else.” 

Louis leans into Liam’s grip and hopes to whatever power’s out there that he’s right. 

*

For some reason that completely escapes Louis’ comprehension, Nick doesn’t stop coming around after he identifies the sigil. He’ll show up with Harry to training and watch as Harry and Louis spar and do nothing more helpful than critique everything Louis does. Liam and Paul seem to actually _like_ having Nick around, which makes even less sense to Louis. Liam he gets, he supposes, since he generally likes most people. Paul, on the other hand, is prickly at the best of times, so Louis has absolutely zero idea why he lets Nick keep coming around, especially since they’re no closer to actually finding the Captare demon. 

It drives Louis up the wall, really. Nick seems to have made it his personal goal to challenge every single thing Louis does or says. Even when Louis is actually _right_, Nick can’t concede unless he gets in some dig about Louis’ naivety or youth or even his damn height. He doesn’t know how much longer he’ll be able to stand it. 

It’s partly his frustration at Nick that makes him say “yes” when Sophia Smith invites him and Liam to the party she’s throwing while her parents are out of town. Louis knows it’s mostly a pity invite for him--Sophia’s had a crush on Liam since the 10th grade, and she definitely wants him there more than she cares about Louis going. Normally, Louis would say no, because his life is crazy enough without adding in a night of high school party shenanigans. But this time, he accepts Sophia’s invite immediately, though both she and Liam seem shocked. 

“Oh,” she says, glancing between him and Liam once. “Well, great! I’ll see you there. It starts at 9.” 

“We’ll be there,” Louis says with a smile, even as he can feel Liam gaping at him from the side. Sophia walks away, and Louis turns to Liam. “What?” 

“Lou, we never go to those parties. What are we going to do at a party?” Liam asks. He looks worried. “There’s, like, alcohol and drugs there.” 

“It’ll be fine, Liam,” Louis says, rolling his eyes. He shoves at Liam’s shoulder. “You regularly fight demons, and you’re dating a vampire. You’re really worried about a little underage drinking?” 

Liam shakes his head, but Louis can still see some apprehension in his eyes. “No, like, just--are you sure you want to go?” 

“Yes, Liam. Invite your boyfriend if you’re so worried about it. I’m sure he’ll protect you from whatever big bads might show up at Sophia’s house,” Louis says, and then he walks to math class, leaving Liam in the hallway. 

*

Asking Liam to invite Harry to the party might have been a mistake, since Harry brings Nick. Again, Louis has no clue why Nick would want to be seen at a party with a bunch of high school seniors, but he’s still there with his stupid hair and his ridiculous clothing. It makes Louis so mad that he downs his first drink practically in one, grabbing another one right after. Liam shoots him a worried glance, but Louis just shakes his head. 

The four of them find a couch to sit down on in a corner, and Louis actually enjoys himself for a while. Nick’s apparently turned off his attitude for the night, which makes Louis let his own guard down a bit. He actually finds himself laughing at a few of Nick’s jokes, though he makes sure to hide most of his smiles in his cup. He might be feeling slightly kinder to Nick tonight, but he still doesn’t want it to go to Nick’s head. He would be doubly insufferable if he thought Louis did any more than tolerate him. 

About an hour into the party, Louis gets up for another drink, and Nick goes with him. “Not sure they’ve got what you want,” Louis says when they reach the kitchen. He grabs another cup of punch for himself, and raises an eyebrow when Nick grabs a bottle of beer. 

“I am capable of drinking...other things,” Nick says, casting a glance around at the other people standing around the kitchen. “It would’ve been a bit too obvious if I hadn’t.”

Louis nods, sipping his own drink. “Right,” he says slowly, before abruptly turning and walking out of the kitchen. That was probably the longest conversation he’d ever had alone with Nick, and he’s not sure how to continue it. He thinks he hears Nick huff a laugh--or maybe a sigh--behind him before he follows. 

They run into a problem when Louis reaches the couch where they’d left Liam and Harry, because apparently the other two had taken the opportunity to start making out. Heavily. Louis huffs and rolls his eyes. He takes another sip of his drink, still watching the couple, because it’s a bit like watching something disgusting and disturbing, but you can’t look away. Nick seems to be in a similar state, standing next to Louis and looking at Liam and Harry, though he doesn’t say anything. 

Louis takes another sip of his drink and sighs when it doesn’t seem like Liam and Harry will detach themselves any time soon. He doesn’t particularly want to be stuck in a conversation with Nick, either, so he turns and walks away from the couch, trying to find someone else he knows. 

He’s not sure if Nick follows him or not, and frankly he doesn’t care. It doesn’t take long for Louis to run into Eleanor Calder, Sophia’s best friend who’s always been pretty nice to Louis, even though she’s easily one of the most popular girls in school. “Hey, Louis,” she says, putting a hand on his arm, “who’s that with Liam?” 

“Um,” Louis says, glancing back to see that Liam and Harry are still kissing. “His boyfriend?” 

“Oh,” Eleanor says, looking surprised. “Is he, like, in college or something?” 

“Sure,” Louis says slowly. “He’s older.” 

“Cool,” Eleanor says. She looks over Louis’ shoulder for a second, then back to him. “Is that other guy also older?” Louis looks behind him, sees that Nick is looking at the both of them with a curious look on his face. He makes a face at Nick and then turns back around to Eleanor. 

“Yeah, that’s Harry’s friend.” 

“Cool,” Eleanor says again. She seems distracted, glancing over Louis’ shoulder again. “Is he, like, with anyone? Do you know?” 

“What?” Louis asks, incredulous. Is Eleanor Calder seriously asking him if _Nicholas Grimshaw_ is single? What has his life become? 

“You know, is he _with_ anyone?” she repeats. She pauses for a moment and then continues with an apologetic look on her face. “Unless he’s like, gay, too. I’m totally fine with that. But if he isn’t--”

“I don’t know,” Louis cuts her off, maybe a bit too harshly. He just wants to get out of this conversation as soon as possible. “I don’t think he’s with anyone, but I don’t know what he’s into. Sorry.” He turns around to leave and almost runs directly into Nick’s chest. Apparently the man had come up behind him while he was talking to Eleanor. Louis doesn’t know how much of the conversation Nick heard, and he doesn’t really want to find out. He turns around again, and pushes past Eleanor to try to find the way outside. He suddenly feels claustrophobic, surrounded by too many people, and he needs some fresh air. 

“Hey,” he hears from behind him, followed by a hand grabbing his arm. Louis whirls around, just stopping himself from punching Nick right in the face when he sees who’s grabbed him. He huffs frustratedly. 

“What?” he snaps.

“I just--I wanted to see if you were alright. You rushed out pretty quickly,” Nick says, letting go of Louis’ arm to rub a hand on the back of his neck. It’s probably the first time Louis’ seen him be nervous. 

“I’m fine,” Louis says. He’s still on his guard a bit, because he doesn’t really know what Nick wants from him. “You can go back in now,” he adds when Nick doesn’t move, still standing awkwardly in front of Louis. 

“Er, if it’s alright with you, I might stay out, actually. Have some air,” Nick says. Louis blinks at him again. 

“Sure, whatever you want,” he says, and then he turns away, looking out over the backyard. Sophia’s family has a nice house, and the yard is big, spreading out until it runs up against the woods that surround most parts of the town. Those woods used to be fun for Louis, a source of adventures when he and Liam were kids, but now Louis just feels wary looking at them. They’re home to an endless amount of vampires, demons, and any other monster he could think of. 

He and Nick are silent for a while, though Louis is constantly aware of Nick’s presence next to him. After a while, Nick clears his throat. Louis turns to look at him, and is surprised to find Nick standing closer than he was before. 

Nick is looking at him intently, but he doesn’t say anything. Louis makes an inquisitive noise when another minute passes in silence. Nick finally lets out a breath. “Just--don’t stake me,” he says. 

“What?” Louis says, but before he the word can fully leave his mouth, Nick’s lips are on his. Louis stands there for a moment, so stunned that he can’t move. He has to take a moment to process what exactly is happening, that Nick is _kissing _him, before he can do anything. After another half a minute, Louis pulls back from the kiss suddenly, glaring at Nick. 

“Don’t ever do that again,” he spits out before he turns around and storms back into the house. He keeps going, shoving his way through the crowded house until he’s out on the front porch, and then he starts walking down the street, heading vaguely in the direction of his house. 

He’s pissed is the thing, but he’s also extremely confused. He doesn’t understand where the hell that came from, since he was convinced until maybe about half an hour ago that Nick hated everything about him. He was also pretty sure the feeling was mutual. 

He stops walking a couple blocks from his house, sitting down on a bench and putting his head in his hands. It doesn’t take long before he hears footsteps approaching, and when he looks up he sees Liam walking towards him. He’s alone; he must have left Harry at the party, maybe with Nick. He turns his head forward and lets out a harsh breath, because he doesn’t want to think about Nick anymore. Unfortunately, his brain doesn’t want to cooperate with that wish.

“Hey,” Liam says, sitting down next to Louis on the bench, “you alright?” 

“No,” Louis replies. “Nick kissed me.” Louis still can’t wrap his head around it. Liam doesn’t look surprised when Louis says it, though, so Louis reckons Harry told him about it. 

“Yeah,” Liam says, but he doesn’t say anything more. He’s waiting for Louis to make a decision, to tell Liam more or to move on without saying anything. Louis waits a minute or two, thinking, before he lets out another frustrated sigh. 

“It doesn’t make any sense!” he snaps. “Like, he’s never been anything but rude to me and then he kisses me? What the hell?” 

“Maybe he has a weird way of showing affection,” Liam offers. Louis scoffs. 

“What, by insulting me? Some way to show affection,” he says. Liam kindly doesn’t make any comments about Louis doing the same thing most of the time. 

“Did you want to kiss him back?” Liam asks after a moment. Louis whips his head around to look at him, incredulous. 

“_What_?” he spits out. 

“Did you want to kiss him back?” Liam repeats. “Look, Lou, don’t take it the wrong way, it’s just--Nick seems to get under your skin more than anyone else I’ve ever seen. It wouldn’t be the end of the world, if you did want to kiss him.” 

“I--wha--it’s totally against the Slayer code!” Louis sputters. Even though Liam is voicing the same questions that Louis himself was just thinking, it’s unsettling to have them verbalized. 

“Is there even one of those?” Liam asks. 

“Of course there is!” Louis says, though he’s never read it. He’s sure there’s about a million clauses against entering relationships with vampires, though. 

“You’ve probably already broken most of the rules in it, though,” Liam says with laughter in his voice. He turns more serious after a moment. “Listen, if you really don’t like Nick, that’s fine. But I don’t think you should shut it down completely just because you think that’s what you should do as the Slayer. You can still be happy, you know.” Liam slings an arm around Louis’ shoulder, and Louis leans into Liam, resting his head on his shoulder for a few minutes. 

“I just want to go home now, I think,” Louis says eventually. Liam nods and then walks him home, leaving him on his front porch with a tight hug and a promise to see him the next day. Louis is, not for the first time, very grateful to have Liam in his life. 

When he climbs into bed, he turns and stares at the photo of him and his mom sitting on his bedside table. It was taken about two years ago now, just after he became the Slayer and a year before she died. He looks at it for a long time, studying the smile on his mom’s face, the twin one on his own. They hadn’t even known she was sick, in that photo; it all came on so fast--Louis becoming the Slayer, trying to deal with his powers, his mom dying and him being left trying to balance his family, school, and his Slayer duties. It’s a lot to put on one eighteen year old’s shoulders, and not for the first time Louis wishes that his life had gone differently. 

“I wish you were here,” he whispers to the photo. It doesn’t reply. He rolls over to face the wall and wills himself to sleep. 

*

On Monday morning, there’s a boy with shockingly bright bleached blonde hair leaning against Louis’ locker. Louis hasn’t seen him before, which is rare in a town as small as Sunnydale. “Um?” he says, when he and Liam reach the locker. The boy looks up with a bright smile on his face. 

“Hey!” he says. “You’re the Slayer!” Liam makes a shocked noise and Louis glances around quickly to make sure no one else has heard. 

“Keep your voice down! And how do you even know that?” he asks in a harsh whisper. 

The boy’s smile doesn’t falter. He lowers his voice a bit, though. “I can sense it. I’m a werewolf.” 

“_Really_?” Louis and Liam ask at the same time. Liam sounds excited, Louis sounds exhausted. 

“Yep,” the boy says. He glances around to make sure no one is looking, and then he lifts the hem of his shirt a bit to reveal a bite-mark scar on the side of his abdomen. 

“_Sick_,” Liam says, looking awed. The boy drops his shirt, then looks at Louis again. 

“My name’s Niall. I think I could help you out,” he says. Louis sighs, then nods.

“Alright,” he says. “Meet us in the library after school.”

And that’s how Niall Horan joins their little gang of supernatural creatures. 

*

Niall joining the team is actually very useful. He’d moved to Sunnydale to be closer to a pack of werewolves (Louis doesn’t even know why he’s surprised at this point), which means he has connections to supernatural beings that they hadn’t had before. He’s also just generally great, with an infectious laugh, an appreciation of action movies, and a willingness to make fun of Nick at any opportunity. Louis is very glad that Niall found them. 

Louis and Nick haven’t spoken since Sophia’s party, though Louis thinks Nick wants to talk. He’ll look at Louis sometimes, when he thinks Louis can’t see him. Louis doesn’t really want to open that can of worms, though, not when they’re getting closer every day to tracking down the Captare demon. If he can only focus on one thing at a time, he would rather it be the thing trying to steal his soul, not the vampire thay may or may not have feelings for him. Feelings that Louis may or may not return. 

Louis shakes his head. He needs to start focusing on his patrols, or else a vampire will kill him before the Captare demon ever could. He continues on his path through the graveyard, though it seems pretty calm tonight. He doesn’t see any undug graves, and no vamps come running out of the crypts when he walks past them. He’s nearly out of the graveyard when he gets the prickly feeling on the back of his neck that something’s following him. He keeps walking for a while, to make sure his instincts are right, and sure enough after a few feet he hears the crackle of leaves behind him. 

He whirls around, stake already halfway towards the chest of whatever’s behind him, when he hears Nick’s voice call out. 

“Wait!” Nick says, jumping back to avoid the stake. He raises his hands in a show of innocence. “It’s just me.”

“Jesus,” Louis pants out, trying to calm his racing heart. “You can’t sneak up on me like that.”

“Sorry, sorry,” Nick says. “You just--didn’t seem to want to talk, and I figured maybe if I--”

“If you started following me around in a graveyard?” Louis asks incredulously. 

“Alright, yes, that might not have been the brightest idea,” Nick admits, and Louis snorts. The adrenaline is still coursing through him, though he makes an effort to loosen his shoulders. 

“Well, what did you want to talk about?” Louis asks. He’s being deliberately obtuse, but he’s also not too keen on having this conversation in the first place. 

“You know what,” Nick says, because he can see through Louis’ evasion techniques. “The kiss.” 

Louis sighs. “What about it?” he asks. 

Nick lets out a breath, and Louis can tell he’s starting to get frustrated. “Look, I know you didn’t reciprocate, but I do actually like you, and I wanted to make sure I didn’t fuck everything up.” 

Louis pauses before he responds, because Nick isn’t asking Louis on a date, or trying to explain himself, or giving Louis some excuse. He seems to genuinely fear that he’s messed up their entire relationship. But, again, that confuses Louis, since he hadn’t thought Nick even tolerated him until the kiss. “Um, you didn’t. Though, like, I guess I was confused since I didn’t think you liked me. At all, really, since you sort of criticize me all the time,” he says. 

“Yeah, uh, Harry said that probably wasn’t the best,” Nick says, reaching up a hand to rub at the back of his neck. It’s the only time Louis’ ever seen him visibly nervous--though maybe the way he had stared at Louis just before kissing him was nerves, too. “I do like you,” Nick continues, “I think you’re funny, and fit, and you’re the best Slayer I’ve seen in a long while. But all of that just made me nervous, I suppose. And I can really put my foot in it when I get nervous.” 

“That’s for sure,” Louis mutters, and Nick laughs. “Look, I’m not gonna lie--it’s been hard to wrap my head around this. I really thought you hated me, and I couldn’t figure out why you kept coming around. So, we’re fine, I guess, we can go back to normal.” 

“Okay,” Nick says, though he doesn’t sound as relieved as Louis thought he would. “I’ll try to be better, about what I say. I don’t want you to think I hate you.”

“Okay,” Louis says. They stand in silence for a moment before Louis shrugs his shoulders a bit awkwardly. “Um, I’m gonna finish up my patrol, now.” 

“Right, right, of course,” Nick rushes out. “I’ll, uh, see you later.” He turns around sharply and disappears into the graveyard. Louis turns in the other direction and begins to make his way home. He’s still a bit confused by Nick, but he thinks it’ll be nice, if Nick actually does lay off criticizing Louis all the time. 

*

Nick doesn’t really lay off. It pissed Louis off, at first, but then he realized that the comments didn’t have the bite they had before. They’re more lighthearted, teasing. It’s a bit like how Nick makes fun of every other word out of Harry’s mouth with an undercurrent of affection. Louis isn’t quite sure what to do with that thought, so he shoves it to the back of his mind. 

Paul’s gathered them all in the library to update them on the Captare demon. Liam wonders a bit at how much they’ve grown in the past few months, from just him and Liam to the solid team they’ve built up now. It makes him think that maybe they can really beat this one, and with minimal injuries at that. 

“So,” Paul says, once everyone’s gathered in a rough circle around his table. He’s got some plans laid out across it, and he gestures at them as he says, “I’ve figured out where the Captare demon is hiding.”

Louis steps forward to study the plans. “That looks like the old water plant outside of town,” he says. He knows the plant well: he and Liam used to go exploring in it, and more than one demon has used it as their headquarters in the past couple years.

“It is,” Paul confirms. “I tracked the demon there after a few disappearances in the last week, people that the demon lured there. I think it’s getting stronger.” He looks around at them all before he continues, “We need to make a move as soon as possible, or else it might get too strong to head off.” 

“Do we have a plan?” Niall asks, and Louis looks at him. 

“I go in, kill it, it’s done,” he says, shrugging. Nick snorts from behind him. 

“Sorry, love, but I don’t think it’s that easy,” he says, but he’s smiling when Louis looks at him. Louis rolls his eyes at him. 

“What do you suggest?” he asks, without any real bite behind it. He ignores the way that Liam and Niall are looking between the two of them like it’s a tennis match. 

“We need a plan,” Nick says, “A detailed one. It’s going to take all of us to even get close. The demon is smart; we can’t just go in there guns blazing.” 

Louis’ not sure why, since Nick’s been with them for months now, but he’s surprised that Nick says “we,” that he includes himself in the plan. But Nick just looks determined as he stares back at Louis, and Louis nods slowly. 

“Okay,” he says, “let’s make a plan.”

*

The plan goes like this: Liam and Niall will be a distraction, posing as two normal teenagers hanging out near the water plant. They’ll lure out whoever the demon has enlisted as its henchmen. That’s when Niall will shift into a wolf and Harry will come out from where he’s hidden, and they’ll take care of the henchmen. As they lure the people out, Louis, Nick, and Paul will sneak into the plant and locate the demon. Paul’s the best with spells, so he’ll stay back and start hurling whatever magic he can at it, while Nick and Louis go in with brute force. Nick’s definitely the strongest and most experienced of all of them, so he’s going with Louis. Louis has to be the one to actually stake the demon, though. Louis hopes that’ll go pretty easily, and then they can all go home. 

It’s a plan that could fail in a thousand different ways, but it’s the best chance they’ve got, so they’re gonna go through with it. They all climb into Paul’s van before they drive out to the plant, but Liam pulls Louis aside before he can get in. 

“Hey,” Liam says, “I just wanted to see if you’re good with everything.” 

“Sure,” Louis says, casually. “Why not?” 

“Louis--” Liam starts, “you know who it’ll be.” 

“And I can deal with that,” Louis says sharply. “I’ll be fine.” 

“Okay,” Liam says. He doesn’t sound sure, but he also doesn’t say anything else. He pulls Louis into a tight hug, and then they both get into the van. 

When they pull up to the plant, everyone shares a solemn look. Louis takes a deep breath. He figures now’s the time for him to make a big speech, to inspire them all that they can really do this and go home the winners. The problem is he’s never had to give a speech like that, and he’s actually not all that confident that nothing will go wrong. So all he can come up with is, “okay, everyone. Let’s do this and try not to fuck up too badly.” 

“Real words of wisdom there,” Nick says, dryly, before he opens the van door. They all pile out, and Louis, Nick, and Paul head over to where they’re meant to take cover while the others start the distraction. 

Getting the goons out of the plant and to Niall and Liam’s location is surprisingly simple. Louis and the others sneak into the building, and Nick quickly disposes of the two guards still left inside. Louis stakes then as well, for good measure. 

As they creep deeper into the water plant, a greater sense of dread creeps over Louis. They're wildly unprepared, he thinks, and he's truly not sure if they'll make it. For one of the first times since he was able to control his Slayer powers, he's truly scared of what's to come. 

They reach the door to the central room, where they think the demon should be hiding. It's the best protected part of the plant, and it has plenty of power for it to feed off if the human bodies don't do the trick. Paul stops in front of the door, reaching into his bag for the spell book. He'll stay there, protected enough to cast without interruption, while Nick and Louis face the demon themselves.

Louis approached the door with Nick by his side. He reaches out to grab the handle, but Nick's hand on his arm stops him. He turns, looking at Nick with a questioning glance. Nick doesn't say anything, just looks into his eyes like he's searching for something. He must find it, because he nods seriously after a moment and his hand leaves Louis' arm. Louis nods back, and he opens the door.

It's a pretty cliche location, is the first thing Louis thinks. It's a room with a large walkway going through the middle, saving them from a drop probably 60 feet down into a concrete floor. Louis thinks he's seen the same room in a million action movies, but demons have always had a flair for the dramatic.

The Captare demon has stationed itself at the end of the catwalk. They've taken it by surprise, because it hasn't shifted into any form yet. Shortly after Louis steps onto the catwalk, though, it makes some sort of noise and then it's entire being changes. 

Louis' mother stands at the other end of the catwalk. 

“Oh, honey,” she says, clasping a hand to her chest and taking a few steps toward Louis. “It's so good to see you.”

Louis moves closer as well. Nick stays back; he'll only get involved if he needs to. “It's good to see you, too, mom.”

“Come here,” she says, “give me a hug.”

Louis stays where he is. “Can you come over here? I'm worried about falling,” he says.

She comes closer, until she's nearly within arm's reach. Louis has to hand it to the demon, they've got her likeness nearly down. He can still sense something sinister below, though, something his mother would never feel. He doesn’t know if the demon’s facade is really that bad, or if Paul’s weakening spells are working. He won’t complain either way. “You look so good, baby,” she says. “You've grown so much.”

“Yeah,” Louis says. He can suddenly feel a lump growing in his throat. He hopes somewhere his mom really can see him. “I've missed you. I _miss_ you. Every day.”

“I've missed you, too,” she says, smiling. “We don't have to anymore, though. I'm here. We'll be together.”

A tear slips from Louis' eye. He doesn't wipe it away. “I love you,” he says. 

“I love you, too,” she replies, and it sounds enough like his mother that he closes his eyes for a moment. When he opens them, she's even closer than before. She's reaching for him.

“I'm sorry,” he whispers, and then he plunges the stake into where her heart would be. “I'm sorry,” he repeats, as the vision of his mother melts away. The demon below is ugly, and it makes a horrifying noise as it dies.

Louis collapses on the walkway, sobbing because he's killed his mother again. He's killed her. She was back and he made her go away forever again. He's crying so hard it's difficult for him to breathe. Someone's calling his name. There are arms around him, rocking him and petting his hair. 

He doesn't know how he gets out of there. He thinks maybe someone carries him.

*

Louis comes to in the back of the van. Nick's sitting next to him, watching him closely. Louis thinks he sees him sigh in relief when Louis opens his eyes. Liam's there, too, holding his hand tight. Louis closes his eyes again, but he doesn't pass out. “We did it,” he breathes, and Liam squeezes his hand.

Niall invites them all over. His parents are out of town, and no one really wants to be alone. Louis goes with, though he’s actually not so sure about the “not being alone” thing right now. He knows he _should_ be around other people, shouldn’t isolate himself, but still. It’s hard when everyone else can only focus on how they survived and won, and Louis can only think about the things he’s still lost. 

He walks out onto Niall’s back porch, sitting down on the top step and slumping over so his chin rests on his knees. He’s been out there for a while, though he doesn’t know exactly how long, when he hears the back door open behind him. 

Nick sits next to him on the step. He doesn’t speak at first, but his quiet presence is calming to Louis. After a little while, Nick clears his throat. “You knew it would be her,” he says. It isn’t a question. 

“Yeah,” Louis answers anyway. “It couldn’t have been anyone else.” 

“How long has it been?” Nick asks. 

“A year now. Part of me is glad, though,” Louis admits, though he feels guilty about it, “because she never had to deal with all of this. She never had to know that demons and vampires and all sorts of monsters are real. I wish she was here, of course, I wish she was here every day, but still.” He breaks off with a shrug. Nick nods like he understands. 

“It’s never easy,” he says. His voice is soft, like he’s thinking of something. “Losing someone, I mean. It doesn’t get easier.” 

“You’ve lost a lot of people,” Louis says, looking over at Nick. It isn’t a question, either. 

“Yes,” Nick says, meeting Louis’ eyes. 

“But you still like me,” Louis says, confused. “You want to be with me. Even if you know you’ll lose me. Why?” 

“Because loving other people is the only thing that’s kept me human,” Nick says, bluntly. He pauses for a moment and takes a breath. “It was hard, at first. Being this, what I am now. I lost my family. My friends. I watched people I loved grow so old they didn’t remember me and then had to put them in the ground. And for a while, I pulled away. I didn’t interact with humans; I went into the woods and lived alone and never spoke to another person. I couldn’t handle it. And those years--I don’t like to think about them. I was as close to a monster as I could be. I brought myself back, though. Harry helped--I found him then, and he loved people so much, always wanted to be around them. I knew people again, and I loved them. I found myself again in that.” Nick pauses, sighs. He looks back at Louis. “You were different. I’d known Slayers before, and they were young and reckless and stupid. They thought they could do anything and they got themselves killed for it. I was rude to you at first because I thought you were the same. I thought you wouldn't last, that I could never do anything about it. But you weren't like them. You _aren't_. You’re still young, and you’re reckless, but you’re not stupid. You can do it, I really think you can, you can do it all. Save the world, all that crap. And you’re so beautiful it hurts for me to look at you sometimes, because you remind me of everything I’ve lost and everything I want back again. So that’s why. Because I can't help myself.”

Louis lets out a breath he didn’t realize he was holding. It’s a lot to take in, that Nick feels so fiercely about him. “I--” he starts, but he doesn’t know what he would say next. 

“It’s okay,” Nick says. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“No, I--” Louis starts again, and then he makes a frustrated noise when more words don’t come out. “I do like you, I just--it’s hard to wrap my head around, sometimes. This life is still new to me, and I still have so much to learn. I just don’t know if I’m ready, I guess, for a whole relationship. Especially with, like, a supernatural being.” 

“That’s okay,” Nick says. “I am immortal, you know. So if you don’t want to do anything now but you change your mind later, I’ll still be here.” 

Louis snorts. “We can like, I dunno. Move slowly, I guess? I wouldn’t mind holding hands, or kissing sometimes.” 

“Oh, well if you wouldn’t _mind_ it,” Nick says, rolling his eyes. Louis laughs. Nick takes his hand, then, squeezes it. “This is okay?” 

“Yeah,” Louis says, “better than.” 

Soon enough, they’ll need to go inside and see their friends. They’ll need to debrief the night, and Louis will have to go back to school and Nick will have to hide from the sun. They'll have to fight demons and monsters and who knows what other shit the Hellmouth will throw at them. But for now, as they hold hands on Niall’s back porch and sit together in silence, it feels a little like everything Louis will ever need. 

**Author's Note:**

> find me on tumblr [here](http://foliealou.tumblr.com) and find the fic post [here](https://foliealou.tumblr.com/post/186665401046/its-me-and-my-plus-one-at-the-afterlife-it-all)


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